News The Sun 8 December 2012 Kate hospital condemns ‘truly appalling’ radio hoax after death of nurse THE hospital where a nurse apparently killed herself after falling victim of an Aussie radio show's prank call have condemning the stunt as “truly appalling". King Edward VII’s Hospital, which was treating Prince William's wife Kate for acute morning sickness, wrote to the chairman of Southern Cross Austereo to protest “in the strongest possible terms” against the “extremely foolish” hoax. Tragic Jacintha Saldanha, who was duped into thinking she was speaking to the Queen, was found dead yesterday two days after the crank call by 2Day FM DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian. Hospital chairman Lord Glenarthur said her death was "tragic beyond words", adding that the station had "humiliated" the unsuspecting nurse. He wrote: “I appreciate that you cannot undo the damage which has been done but I would urge you to take steps to ensure that such an incident could never be repeated." A spokesman for the private London hospital said the letter was sent earlier today. The letter comes after major advertisers began deserting 2Day FM amid public outrage and Australia's media regulator prepared to launch a probe into its conduct. Leading supermarket Coles - the country’s second largest chain - was the first to drop the Sydney- based station following Jacintha's death, which is leading news headlines in Australia. Coles was followed swiftly by Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications company, which announced it was pulling all advertising from 2Day FM. CHAIRMAN of King Edward VII's Hospital said he wanted to "protest" against the "extremely foolish" gag And Optus, Telstra's main competitor, said it is reviewing its position. The moves put huge pressure on the station - already the focus of outrage on Twitter on Facebook over the stunt and its tragic consequences. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also been flooded with complaints from the public. Coles said on its Facebook page: “We understand Australians are clearly angry and upset by what appear to be tragic consequences of the 2Day FM UK hospital prank. "We have wanted to let you know we have instructed 2DAY FM to remove all Coles group advertising from the station as soon as possible.” More than 1,000 people had 'liked' the posting half an hour after it went online early today. Worldwide Twitter fury continued over the prank and Jacintha Saldanha’s death. Australian TV star Holly Valance, 29, tweeted: “Beyond horrific. Hope they’re held accountable for their prank. A life spent helping people ends up like this.” Telly presenter Myleene Klass said: “Just heard about Jacintha Saldanha. Poor lady must have been terrified.” Lord Sugar said on Twitter: “Tragic suicide of Nurse involved taking fake Australian call at Kate’s hospital. The journalist should be arrested/charged with something.” Last night the Facebook pages of 2Day FM and its owner Southern Cross Austereo Media faced a backlash from thousands of angry users. Posters called for listeners to boycott the station, and for the DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig to be fired. 2Day said it had received 195 "logged complaints" by 1am UK time today. The radio station was reporting the death of Jacintha as the main item on its news bulletins. ACMA said it has received a "lot" of complaints but declined to give a figure, and said it is in discussions with the Sydney-based station. A spokeswoman said: “The ACMA is reviewing all the circumstances around the prank call. "We’ve had a lot (of complaints) but it doesn’t actually matter, we only need one complaint to launch an investigation. “We haven’t launched an investigation yet, we’re engaging with the licensee at the moment.” The regulator is looking into whether the DJs breached Australia's Commercial Radio Code of Practice, including points on "exploiting" participants and broadcasting comments by people without their consent. .